It's Recording
by amehanaa
Summary: A young girl and a middle aged man are sitting together on the edge of her bed in front of a camera. He puts his arm around her and whispers in her ear. What will he make her say?


"Call me Daddy for today," the man eyed the young girl, putting an arm on her shoulder.

"Okay," she responded, squirming at his touch and at the uniform she was forced to wear. She straightened her back and faced the camera.

"I-Is it rolling?" she stammered.

"Yes," he sat far away enough to where he wasn't in the shot.

"How do I start again?"

"Say your name and what grade you are in," he commanded in a low voice.

"Do I _have_ to say it?" she asked with a whining tone.

The pressure on the girl's shoulder became heavier. The man had leaned in, "Yes, you do."

"Um.. My name is Lucy Heartfilia," she announced to the camera with a trembling voice. She gripped onto the edge of the skirt until her hands rattled. "I am in the sixth grade."

"Good job!" he clapped in encouragement. He reached over and pressed a button that made the red recording light vanish with a low beep.

"Come on, Daddy," she complained while swaying her dangling feet in the air. "It's just so embarrassing! Does this _have_ to be on tape?"

"What are you saying? You made a promise! Do you have any idea how _much_ this camera was?" he pointed at the tripod with a frown.

"B-but.." she protested. "This is my first time being recorded. It'll stick around forever, won't it?"

"Don't worry. It's only for me to watch when I'm sad," he assured with a chuckle. "I won't show it to anyone else! You only belong to me!"

"Eugh," she stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Well, that's not what I mean," she scooted closer to the edge of her bed so her feet could almost touch the floor. "I'm still in elementary school but you are making me wear this middle school uniform. I haven't even bought one yet!"

"I just had to see what you looked like in a school uniform!" he roared. Glistening sweat had started to form on his forehead as the late afternoon sun rays flooded into the room.

"Fine," the young girl tried to not roll her eyes. "In that case, will you buy me what I want?"

"What?" the man looked perplexed. He dug in his pocket and opened an empty wallet. "I've already spent all my money on you."

The girl's brown eyes widened, "How do you plan to do this then?" After asking she averted her gaze. "Well, it's not like I care.. About going on."

He stared at her with a stern gaze. Looking off behind the camera he said, "Lucy, promise me you'll never say that again."

"But it's true, isn't it?" she asked.

"No more," he shook his head. "I'm going to keep making videos."

"What? You're _still_ trying to do that? Well, I guess I will.." her shoulders slouched.

"Right. I should tell you before I start," he said. "If it get's too painful for you, don't be afraid to speak up. We can stop at any time you want."

"Yeah, okay," she nodded and took a deep breath.

"Are you scared?"

"I am," she replied.

"If you're really against it," his voice became hoarse, "we don't have to do it."

"I'm okay!" she declared. "You've already done so much for me. I need this."

"Alright, I'll buy you whatever you want!" the man gave in, putting a hand on his head.

"Really?" the girl's eyes lightened up. "Thank you! I love you so much, Daddy!" she wrapped her arms around the man with a large smile.

"You're burning a hole in my pocket," he ruffled her hair, making the girl smile sheepishly.

"So, Daddy, please pray for me," she gulped, "that this surgery will work out."

"Yeah," he pat her head.

"This is the last time I'm getting filmed, alright?"

"That won't do," he declined. "I'm going to film everything from now on. When you go swimming, our Christmas, your middle school graduation, and high school graduation."

"All that?" she exclaimed in horror.

"And then your college graduation," he continued. "Your first job and each of your birthdays. I'll record everything."

"Dad," she watched her father drop his head in his hands.

"I hope you'll get through this surgery. Please," he murmured.

She placed her hand on the top of his head, "You've done so much. Working so hard to pay for this surgery and raising me until now without Mom. Thanks! I'm so proud of you, Dad!"

"Lucy," he lifted his head to look down at his grinning daughter.

"So, um," she twirled her fingers around in her lap. "Even if this surgery doesn't work out, I have nothing to regret. Don't worry about a thing."

He pulled her into his arms and pat her head, "There's still so many things I haven't done with you yet. You better stay alive."

"Okay," she pulled away to face him. "I'll do my best!"

"It's almost time," he said, glancing at the clock. "One last smile and peace sign, alright?" he put a timer on the camera.

"Say cheese!" she shouted, smiling at the camera and holding up a peace sign.

"Cheese!" he said enthusiastically, the room turning bright from the flash.

"I want to see it!" she got up from her bed and grabbed the camera. "Look how happy we look, Dad!"

"Yes, we are very happy," he had a shaky voice, one tear dripping down his cheek.

She lightly pushed his shoulder, "We promised we wouldn't cry.. Didn't we?"

"Lucy," he croaked out, more tears streaming down.

"I will be okay," she said, her face mirroring her father's.

They weeped together in silence. There was a soft knock on the door.

"Lucy Heartfilia, it is time for your operation," a nurse informed.

"I'll see you later, Daddy! Tell Natsu that I'll see him soon, too!" she waved as her bed began to be pushed away.

The young girl watched the white walls surrounding her fly by her and with a smile, she closed her eyes. She would reunite with her father and her best friend Natsu soon and go for some ice cream later.

The last thing that she saw was a vanishing red light that had a higher pitched beep. There were words but she wasn't a good reader yet; she liked to think it was the red light dimming away from her father's camera.

* * *

**Surprise one-shot! I read a story similar to this and I got super excited and wrote it on the spot. I know there's hardly any Fairy Tail in it, but I couldn't resist. Probably some errors, too. I had a little fun writing this drabble, though.**

**I usually put my A/N's at the top but I didn't want to distract anyone from the story so here I am trying to be noticed at the bottom of the page. Can anyone hear me?**

**If there's any confusion you have, cause I can tell there are confusing spots, please don't hesitate to ask. I really need to go back to writing my other stories now, ah but this was a good break. Hope you enjoyed this short one-shot!**


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